Do I dare say that these were better than candy…?  They were.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I’m not a huge fan of sweet desserts/bites, but these definitely hit all my taste buds exactly right.  They are super simple and I would definitely recommend you bring these to your annual cookie exchange instead of those boring sugar cookies you were going to make out of the box.  My mom was just purusing Pinterest one evening and came across them.  We had all the ingredients in the pantry (as I’m sure most of you do) and we quickly whipped them up to have a treat during the week.

We based the recipe off this one, but left out the chocolate chips.

Pumpkin Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2-2 cups dry, uncooked oats
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

• Add the oats to a food processor or blender and chop until more of a flour-like consistency.  If using a food processor, keep oats in; otherwise, pour out into a medium bowl.  Add the other ingredients- butter, puree, chia, honey, vanilla, spice.  Continue to mix until combined.  Add more oats to get the right consistency- you’re looking for a cookie-dough like texture.
• Scoop about a tablespoon-full into your hand and roll into a ball.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Freeze for about 1 hour to harden, then keep in the fridge.  Enjoy!